Take Your Running On Vacation

Tips and tricks to make sure you get your run in during your next vacation.

Traveling doesn't just take you away from home. It takes you away from your regular training routes, training buddies, and training routine. But that doesn't mean your running has to go on hiatus. Hitting the road in a new locale can provide a refreshing change of pace, help you learn the lay of the land, and introduce you to some of the area's friendliest locals (runners, of course). We asked a few well-traveled runners for their secrets for staying on track when on the road.

Make the time.Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee schedules his runs and then lets nothing change his plans. "President Bush invited me to sit with him in the president's box during the 2005 Inaugural Parade events," Huckabee says. "And I had to decline because I had a training run scheduled at 2 p.m." If Huckabee can turn down the president, you can probably skip souvenir shopping.

Use layovers."A run around the long-term parking lot, followed by a beer at the airport bar, is how I pass the time," says Jacob Frey, an Olympic Marathon qualifier from Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Some airports have fitness centers with treadmills (and showers), making it easy to run while you wait. Find one at airportgyms.com.

Forget mileage."Just go," says S. Mark Courtney, owner of Runner's High, a ChampionChip race-timing company, a job that puts him on the road a lot. The Grove City, Pennsylvania, "streaker," who has run every day since December 19, 1979, credits his consistency to not getting caught up in miles. "A short run is better than no run," he says.

Explore new territory.An area's hidden treasures are best discovered on foot, says Chris Fuller, of Dallas, an ophthalmologist for the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital (a DC-10 aircraft converted into an ophthalmic surgical center that travels the world). Fuller says running unlocks the best a city has to offer, such as Bubbles O'Leary, the Irish pub he stumbled upon in Uganda.

Find a running club.Alisa Cohn, an executive coach from Brookline, Massachusetts, has tagged along in New York City, San Diego, and Atlanta. Having the company of local residents often leads to surprising perks. "I've gotten leads on clients in New York, and I was invited to an Academy Awards party in San Diego," she says. Find clubs on rrca.org.

Enter a road race. You'll keep up your mileage and see the sights without worrying about your route or traffic, says marathoner Michael Lichtman, a Carlsbad, California, research pharmacist who's run a 5-K in Koloa, Kauai, and a 10-K in Monte Carlo, France. Find races with runnersworld.com's Race Finder.

Pack your GPS.James Holland, a Kansas City-based pilot who travels all over North America and still trains 40 to 60 miles a week, doesn't leave home without his Garmin Forerunner 305. "It means that I can train with the same specific intensity and accuracy in unfamiliar territory," he says.

Research a route."With the right tools it's easy to plan a long run in another city," says Glenn Ray, a business analyst and marathoner from Cypress, Texas. Sites like usatf.org/routes and myfavoriteruns.com have routes that locals have tracked and saved. Print them out or download them into your GPS.

Meet on the streets.Michael Olguin, the president of Formula, a San Diego-based public-relations company, is on the road 15 days a month and invites clients to lace up with him. "Running with a client allows ideas to flow freely," he says.